Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Emily McGrail and her boyfriend Kenneth Richardson head out into the yard to get a close-up look at a sunflower at McGrail's home in Fairlawn. McGrail said she loves animals and travel.

REBECCA BARNETT The Roanoke Times

During a commercial break during the live TV broadcast of the Miss Virginia pageant, an announcer asked the audience to welcome Emily McGrail of Fairlawn, Ms. Wheelchair Virginia 2011. McGrail attended the pageant with her boyfriend of two years, Kenneth Richardson.

Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Emily McGrail, Ms. Wheelchair Virginia, and her boyfriend Kenneth Richardson celebrate her achievement at her home in Fairlawn on Thursday. The two met through an online dating service, and they have been inseparable ever since, McGrail says.

Rebecca Barnett | The Roanoke Times

During a commercial break during the live TV broadcast of the Miss Virginia pageant, an announcer asked the audience to welcome Emily McGrail of Fairlawn, Ms. Wheelchair Virginia 2011. McGrail attended the pageant with her boyfriend of two years, Kenneth Richardson.

Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Emily McGrail says her hobbies include bargain hunting, home improvement, gardening and watching movies.

FAIRLAWN -- The crown Emily McGrail wears is a testament to the road she traveled to get it.

McGrail, 33, is in a wheelchair. But that didn't stop her from seeking true love, a fulfilling career or the title of Ms. Wheelchair Virginia, an achievement she now proudly boasts after overcoming life-changing obstacles.

Like the tumor discovered and partially removed from her brain stem. The painful disorder that settled into her muscles following the radiation treatments to remove the rest of the malignant growth. The blinding headaches caused by fluid leaking from her spinal cord that can interrupt her days. An ex-husband who took advantage of her disability. The looks and whispers she still recognizes from passers-by more intrigued by the wheelchair than the person sitting in it. But the motorized chair she uses doesn't tell the whole story.

Now, there's a sash strewn across her shoulder that tells the newest chapter of her life.

As more than 30 women graced the stage at the Miss Virginia Pageant last month, McGrail, a Fairlawn resident, was already four months into her year-long reign as Ms. Wheelchair Virginia -- the largest wheelchair program in the country in terms of participants, event length and the financial support it receives as an AmeriCorps organization, according to Pamela Cobler, the program's co-executive director. McGrail was crowned March 19 at Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Fishersville.

Since then, there have been setbacks. McGrail was admitted to the hospital for 12 days earlier this month amid her demanding schedule. She had become septic and received blood transfusions to increase her low blood count and antibiotics to rid her body of an infection. Caught up in Ms. Wheelchair activities, "I wasn't taking care of myself," McGrail admitted.

But she's determined to carry out and enjoy her Ms. Wheelchair duties, she said. Because for McGrail, being Ms. Wheelchair means much more than the educational stipend she'll receive at the end of her reign, the crown on her head and the title she'll carry for the rest of her life. It's a chance "for me to be a voice for those with disabilities," McGrail said.

"A wheelchair doesn't define who you are," she said.

'There was a reason I was spared'

McGrail entered the world a seemingly healthy baby in the small Pulaski County community of Snowville.

Growing up, she was "just like the rest of the kids" when she swam in the river, rode a bike and ran through the cow fields. But as she got older, she found that the left side of her body couldn't keep up with her right, made visible by what her grandmother called her "tiny arm." Dye from an MRI revealed a malignant tumor on her brain stem -- the culprit responsible for her stunted growth. Life expectancy for that type of tumor is about five years, doctors told her family. McGrail, 13 at the time, had beaten the odds.

Doctors were able to remove the majority of the tumor. To get rid of the rest, she underwent intense radiation therapy that caused damage to her spine resulting in spasticity. The disorder, which causes unusual tightness of the muscles, has greatly weakened her arms, legs and neck. Since 2005, McGrail has been completely dependent on her motorized wheelchair and the three to four people, like Lauri Murphy, she hires to help with everyday tasks.

Murphy has been McGrail's personal assistant since last November.

"I'm her arms and legs for her," Murphy said.

She helps McGrail get ready, feed her beloved animals and tend to her garden. She drives her to places she needs to go, such as the grocery store, where McGrail prides herself on saving big as a major bargain hunter. Recently, Murphy has been helping her take care of Ms. Wheelchair paperwork and other program-related duties.

Having never met a quadriplegic or cancer survivor, Murphy said she's been inspired by McGrail's persistence and her ability to stay positive despite her disability.

"A lot of people in her situation probably wouldn't be able to live as happily as she is," she said. "She's a great role model for both people in wheelchairs and people who aren't."

When people ask McGrail what she misses the most about walking, it's the everyday tasks that come to mind, McGrail said.

"I used to be able to vacuum my own floor ... to do laundry," McGrail said.

But those are little things, she said.

"There was a reason I had been spared," McGrail said. "God has something much bigger in store for me."

A new calling

There was a time in McGrail's life when she felt God's purpose for her was to be an educator "until the school walls fell down," she said.

She remembers influential teachers who pushed her to choose that path in life.

After graduating from Pulaski County High School in 1995, she went straight to Radford University, where she received a bachelor of science in interdisciplinary studies and a collegiate professional license for K-5 elementary education.

But when she entered the classroom, this time as a teacher, not a wide-eyed student, her feelings about her new profession changed.

"It's not what it was like when I was growing up," she said.

Overwhelmed by state Standards of Learning assessments and the physical and mental state of some of her students, McGrail said she was feeling "kind of empty" about teaching.

"The state expects children to come to school with no electricity, running water and to be held accountable for the same material as children coming from far better backgrounds," McGrail said. "And there's not a thing you can do about it."

What she felt she could do was try to protect them, sometimes by sending them to summer school just so they would be guaranteed breakfast and lunch.

And in doing so, she found comfort and confidence in them.

"The best part of my school day was hearing about their personal stories," McGrail said.

But some stories were the worst part. Some broke her heart, she said.

A student in McGrail's class was struggling, she said. He would hide under desks and act out to the point that teachers and counselors suspected something was going on at home. The boy would always recant "until that one pivotal day," McGrail said, when he finally admitted he was being molested by his stepfather. His mother knew about it, but did nothing.

"I knew right then that what I was doing was not enough," McGrail said. "I knew I had to be on the other side of the classroom."

After her reign as Ms. Wheelchair Virginia -- she was advised to take a year off from school to commit to program duties -- she said she'll seek a master's degree in social work.

With a newfound purpose and a brighter outlook on her future, McGrail was happy, but still felt like something was missing. That was until she turned to the Internet to fill the void.

The perfect mate

It was early 2007, and McGrail was "in recovery mode."

She said she had just gotten out of a volatile, six-year-long marriage. Her ex-husband moved the couple to Northern Virginia, where she said he stole her identity and left her disillusioned about marriage.

She found solace in a counselor at Woodrow Wilson Rehab Center in Fishersville who shared words of wisdom.

"There's so much more in life," he told McGrail.

He encouraged her to turn to the Web for help with her quest for true love. She followed his advice with hesitancy and signed up on eHarmony -- an online dating website.

Five minutes down the road from McGrail's home, Kenneth Richardson was also coming out of a rocky marriage. A Marion native, he had settled into the small town of Belspring. A friend of his also suggested eHarmony. After a few weeks, the two were matched. McGrail was shocked to see that out of all the possible people to be paired with, eHarmony chose a man that lived just miles away.

"We could have seen each other at Walmart for all we know," McGrail said.

The two stayed connected through the website, then began emailing, then talking on the phone. They met in person for the first time April 18, 2009, and "haven't spent a night apart since," McGrail said.

On their first date, Richardson, a development review engineer with Roanoke, drove McGrail in her wheelchair-accessible van to Sal's Jr., a favorite restaurant of the couple. She said she was a tongue-tied, nervous mess. Richardson said he was in awe.

"I thought she was really pretty and charming," Richardson said.

From the beginning of their relationship, McGrail was completely open with her boyfriend about being in a wheelchair -- something that didn't faze Richardson at all, she said.

"To him, I'm not in a chair," she said.

The two share a "creepy" amount in common, McGrail said, including their love for travel. They often take bus trips to cities such as New York and Baltimore. Richardson also accompanies McGrail on most of her Ms. Wheelchair appearances.

"I call him 'Mr. Wheelchair Virginia,' " McGrail said, the red returning to her cheeks.

Richardson said he's supportive of his girlfriend's new role -- a title she's "very deserving of," he said.

"I know she's awesome," Richardson said. "And now everybody else can know, too."

Ms. Wheelchair Virginia

The third time was a charm for McGrail. She participated in the Ms. Wheelchair Virginia program in 2008 and 2009, but did not win.

In March, her determination paid off. She competed and won against some six contestants in the event that drew an audience of about 300. Contestants are judged on personal interviews, platform speech presentations, onstage interviews, a table-of-life display they create to showcase their life and achievements, accomplishments since the onset of disability, communication skills and self-perception.

"It's a program showcasing inner beauty," McGrail said.

So far, McGrail has made more than a dozen appearances -- she's required to make two a month -- at events including Relay for Life, a Special Olympics ceremony and meetings with political leaders. There, she's preached her platform for advocacy -- "Educating Our Future on How There is Ability in Disability."

As Ms. Wheelchair Virginia, she hopes to dispel stereotypes often placed on people who use wheelchairs.

"I want to show what individuals can do with a disability," McGrail said. "The limits are only what you place upon yourself."

Unlike McGrail, Cobler, the program's co-executive director, was relatively new to the wheelchair at the time she entered and won the Ms. Wheelchair Virginia in 2004. Cobler suffered injuries including broken bones, cracked ribs and a severed spinal cord as a result of a traumatic motorcycle wreck in 2001. Through the program, she found the confidence she had lost after the wreck and a "positive focus for the trauma introduced in my life," she said.

She went on to win second runner-up in the Ms. Wheelchair America program, a title for which McGrail will soon compete.

McGrail is also promoting barrier-free travel in Virginia, using her love for destination hopping to inspire wheelchair users to get out of the house and see the world.

After her reign, McGrail's No. 1 priority is to take a cruise, she said.

"For so long I've had issues with my ex-husband, the divorce," she said. "I'm ready to do some me things."

With her van decked out in Ms. Wheelchair Virginia decals and the sparkling crown and sash not too far from her grasp, "the sky's the limit," McGrail said.

The next stop on their travel list -- Grand Rapids, Mich., where McGrail will compete for the national title Aug. 1 to 7.